Revegetation Project at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at 29 Palms

This project is a five-year program that restored the abandoned landing strip and tank trail at the Vertical Short Takeoff and Landing (VSTOL) site. The project tested various procedures such as site preparation, soil manipulation, irrigation methods, and plant protection to develop the most efficient methods for the restoration of native plant communities in disturbed areas while simultaneously controlling erosion and dust. Results from the Tank Trail experiments demonstrated the benefits of ripping a compacted area to enhance the site’s ability to revegetate, and indicated that imprinting a large area in preparation for direct seeding can greatly improve both initial germination and overall success rates.